


The Worlds Where Seven Birds Land

by Fandaround



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Canon Trans Character, F/F, F/M, Gen, Gender Identity, M/M, Other, Sexual Identity, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-08-03 23:33:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 16,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16335383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandaround/pseuds/Fandaround
Summary: Short scenes from the Stolen Century. 100 moments from 100 cycles.





	1. Cycle 0 - The World Where Everything Starts

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write 100 little scenes for each cycle of the Stolen Century. I’m pretty sure someone has already tried doing this, but I came in late to this who TAZ fandom and I really want to take a crack at it. Most scenes are Taako or Barry/Lup centric. I’m not going to nitpick it to keep every tiny detail canon so don’t @ me, and I might take a little liberty with spells, because hey, the boys do it too! This is all just for fun and I hope you enjoy the read, folks!

Barry thought the IPRE building was sort of intimidating. It hadn’t been so bad the last time when he’d come for an interview, but now that they’d called him in for a second round of questions, he felt like there was actually a chance he might be picked.

In his anxiousness, Barry arrived fifteen minutes earlier than the invitation stated and pushed open the door to room 314, expecting to be the first person to arrive. It was a surprise, therefore, when a dark-skinned woman looked up from the massive conference table to greet him.

“Hello,” she said uncertainly.

“Uh-hi,” Barry smiled, “You here for the interviews too?”

The woman smiled back, “Yeah. I’m Lucretia,” she introduced.

“Barry,” he shook her hand and took a seat next to her. “Nice to meet you.”

They waited for several minutes until other people began to arrive. Nearly twenty people gathered around the table, all strangers. They made awkward chit chat and gossiped about the project until a gnome stepped in that they all recognized, followed by two more people that Barry remembered as interviewers from the first stage.

Captain Davenport greeted them with a smile and a cheery “Hello, everyone!” He glanced around the table. “Well, we’re almost all here, so let’s talk introductions. Why don’t we go around the room, tell us your name and your specialty. You all remember me, I hope? Andrew Davenport, I’ll be the captain on this voyage.”

The table started to introduce themselves, going in a circle and standing up in turn like it was the first day of class in high school. There was an elven warlock, a tabaxi monk, and a human who called himself ‘The Hammer’, which garnered laughs from most of the room. Lucretia, on her turn, described herself as a ‘chronicler’, and didn’t elaborate at all what that meant.

“Uh-“ Barry stood up nervously, “Sildar Barold Hallwinter,” he managed to get out, just as he noticed two late arrivals at the door. His eyes had locked onto the face of a beautiful elven woman as he mumbled, “Most people call me Barry.”

There was a moment of silence and creaking chairs as everyone turned to see the two nearly identical face that had interrupted.

“Nice bluejeans, Barry,” the woman in the doorway winked, giving him an up and down glance.

“Uh-I-um…I’m a scientist?”

Davenport crossed his arms at the elves. “You’re late,” he said lightly.

“Sorry,” they said in unison, although neither of them sounded very apologetic. The man piped up, “So, introductions, huh? I’m Taako,” he grinned, “I’m a chef. And also a wizard.”

“Oh, I’m Lup. I do magic and stuff,” she smiled. “And before anyone asks, because some idiot _always_ has to ask- _yes_ , we’re twins.”

“Take a seat,” Davenport sighed, and turned back to the rest of the group. “So...Barry, you’re a scientist. Good, go ahead and sit back down.” Barry flushed, realizing that he could have taken his seat already and that maybe he’d been staring too long at Lup, and plopped into the chair as they continued the introductions.


	2. Cycle 1 - The World Where They Really Shouldn’t Eat Bacon

The crew was, understandably, a bit of a mess during the first cycle. After their initial attempts to get back home, they’d decided to try to find the light of creation. Merle and Davenport went out into the wilderness to search, and while Taako, Lup and Barry had spent most of the first few months with the mongoose family they’d befriended, they were now pretty fluent with the language and had fallen into a bit of a lull. Their days were still punctuated by visits to the mongoose den, but for the most part, the world was quiet.

Taako didn’t like the quiet days, except for the part where it meant he had lots of time to cook. Since the world here was populated by herbivores and an outstanding diversity of edible plants, Taako had been whipping up amazing vegetarian dishes on the daily. This morning’s fare included a mushroom and onion omelette-like dish in which he’d substituted the eggs for a mixture of starch and water, flavored with some garlic and a creamy, nutty spice that the mongoose mama had shown him. It wasn’t quite an omelette, but in its own way, it tasted even better.

“This is tops, bro,” Lup told him, between shoveling forkfuls into her mouth.

“It’s pretty fucking good,” Barry agreed, although he managed to keep eating like a civil person.

“Natch,” Taako winked, just barely even turning to glance at the table over his shoulder.

“I’d love to see what you could do with some bacon,” Lucretia hummed.

“Wonders,” Taako promised. “Trust me, but...I dunno, animals here are, like, sentient beings, ya know?”

“Yeah, don’t get me wrong,” Magnus said, “I like bacon, but...not here.”

“Yeah, respect that,” Lup nodded. “We’re all vegetarians now, better get used to eating rabbit food,” she grinned.

Lucretia sighed, “I know. Speaking of plants, I think I’m gonna document those flowers you found yesterday,” she told Lup, as she finished eating and went to dump her plate in the sink.

“Yeah? I could come with,” Lup offered. “I’ll show you exactly where they are. Taako, you in?”

“Nah, I’m good in here,” he shrugged.

Lup got up to set her plate in the sink as well, and she and Lucretia pulled on their boots and red robes. “Be nice to Barry,” Lup brandished a finger at Taako as he got ready to leave the ship.

Taako frowned, “Why should I be nice to  _ him _ ?”

Lup just pulled her brother in for a hug. “I’ll see you later,” she held one hand up as she trotted out the door, leaving Lucretia to hurry out behind her.

Taako turned to Barry with a shrewd look. “Why’s she care if I’m nice to  _ you _ ?” he asked, leaning across the counter aggressively.

Barry’s eyebrows shot up and he hurried to swallow the last bite of his breakfast. “Uh-I-? I don’t-?”

“Relax,” Magnus whacked Barry in the arm lightly, “He’s just fucking with you. Hey, Taako, are there any leftovers?”

Taako narrowed his eyes at Barry for one last moment before he turned around to slide a pan off the stove and tip the veggies onto Magnus’ plate. “Here ya go, Mags. Eat up, you’re fucking wasting away.”


	3. Cycle 2 - The World Where Magnus Lived

Shortly after the crew realized that Magnus was alive and breathing, looking the exact same as he had when they’d escaped their homeworld on the Starblaster a year ago, black eye and all, they all sort of had to just...stop and take a few moments to process what was going on. They were all standing on a different part of the ship than they’d been a minute ago, and Merle had the same cut on his forehead from a year previous. Even Davenport, at the the helm of the Starblaster, had to take a moment to look about the cabin, open-mouthed as he tried to figure out what was happening.

Taako was the first to speak. “Mags?” he asked. Lup grabbed Taakos hand and squeezed tight.

“Yeah?” Magnus’ brow was furrowed, and he wasn’t quite looking at the floor so much as starting off in its direction as he tried to process what had happened. 

“Were you-? I mean, what happened down there?” Taako asked.

“We thought we lost you,” Lup added, her voice shaky. Taako squeezed her hand back harder.

“I…” Magnus finally looked up at them all, lost for words and shaking his head. “I dunno.”

“The engine,” Davenport blurted suddenly. “It-I mean...you all saw, didn’t you? The... _ threads _ ?”

“You think the  _ engine _ brought Magnus back to us?” Lucretia asked.

Davenport frowned. “No, but...maybe the bonds?”

“Can you land us?” Lucretia asked sharply, “Maybe it brought us home?”

Davenport look skeptical, but hopeful as he nodded and turned his full attention back to the controls. The rest of the crew watched restlessly out the window as they approached the planet with a growing sense of dread. The landmasses were unfamiliar shapes, dotted with great swirls of clouds which Davenport wisely avoided as they touched down.

Even through their anxieties, the crew all breathed sighs of relief as they landed in an empty field of tall grass.

“I think,” Magnus said slowly, “I think I died with the cubs.” He looked up at his six teammates where they were scattered around the ship, trying to piece together what he remembered. “There were two baby bears under my arms, and one of the shadow creatures attacked us. I told the cubs to run, but that... _ thing _ came down right on top of them, and then...there was this giant  _ thing _ . It looked sort of humanoid, but it was made of that shadow, and it-it sliced right through me,” Magnus put one hand up to his side, as if the wound were bleeding there. “I fell, but I looked back and saw the ship in the air, and then...I died...I  _ died… _ ”

“Magnus,” Merle put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You’re  _ here now _ .”

There was a beat of silence. 

“He’s right. Whatever happened, you’re here with us now,” Lup told him. “Wherever the fuck ‘here _ ’  _ is _.” _

“Maybe...maybe it wasn’t your time,” Merle offered. “Maybe you were meant to make it back home.”

“And all those creatures who got eaten up by the shadow?” Magnus asked. There were tears in his eyes. “What about  _ them _ ?”

Merle hesitated, “Maybe...maybe you were meant to protect more people than just them?”

There was silence then, as Lup went to Magnus and threw her arms around his neck. No one dared to speak or interrupt, and the silence seemed to stretch on even into the next days as they took inventory of supplies and scouted the nearby fields for signs of civilization.


	4. Cycle 3 - The World Where Old Men Party Hard

It had been nearly three years since the crew left the IPRE for their ‘two month’ journey, and there had been little to celebrate so far. The world they had landed on this time was filled with otherworldly beasts of all shapes and few humanoids, but Magnus, Davenport and Lup had managed to recover the Light of Creation for the first time, finding it in the lair of a massive ghostly dog. 

Magnus had been hesitant to hurt the beast, and they’d spent a day watching for an opportunity to recover the Light peacefully, but it had taken the Light with it when it left its den and had gone to  attack a nearby settlement of halflings.

They made quick work of the dog, and the halflings were grateful enough for the protection that they not only gave the crew enough wine and mead to last a month, but had absolutely no issue with them taking the Light for themselves.

When Merle started pulling bottles of wine out of his magical pack and setting them on the kitchen counter, Lucretia had stopped to watch at bottle number four. By bottle nine, the whole crew was gathered around the kitchen, and by the seventeenth and final bottle he pulled out, Davenport had already poured out seven glasses of red.

“Is this a toast?” Taako asked. “Or was I supposed to be ready for a party? No one told me we needed hors d'oeuvres!”

“Taako,  _ relax _ ,” Lup threw an arm around his shoulders, “We’re gonna need a whole celebration  _ dinner _ !” She announced, as Merle finally pulled out the Light of Creation, setting it gently on the countertop amid the cheers and awes of the crew.

“You  _ did it _ !” Barry blurted, staring wide-eyed at the relic.

Lup hung her other arm around Barry’s shoulders. “Y’ betcha, babe!” She grinned, and was only slightly offended that he didn’t blush or stammer like usual. He was still staring, awestruck, at the Light.

“A toast!” Davenport called out, picking up his glass. Lup let go of Taako to grab her own drink and Lucretia pushed another glass into Barry’s hands. “To finding the Light!”

“Cheers!” They toasted, and for a moment they all stood in silence around the Light, wondering what this meant for them and trying not to hope that it might be able to return them home.

The night quickly dissolved into a full blown party. They’d had little to celebrate, and no alcohol to speak of for almost three years now, so not only did most of the crew overindulge, but they were overly sensitive to the alcohol in their systems.

Lucretia had taken charge of playing music, to which Merle and Davenport were dancing on the coffee table while Taako swung Magnus around in wild, ungainly twists.

Lup was buzzed, but still awed by the Light. She wanted to prod it with her wand, see what it was made of, but she refrained until she felt sober enough to handle unknown magic in relative safety. Barry, likewise, was avoiding the dancing and singing in favor of studying the Light.

“I don’t know what kind of magic it has,” Lup said softly, “But it’s beautiful.”

Barry swallowed. “Yeah…I want to study the magic,” he said. “I want to see if we can use this go back…”

Lup glanced up to meet his eyes and smiled. “Hey. Come on,” she shoved a hand out. “Let’s go dance.”

“But-”

“We’ll poke it tomorrow,” she tugged him toward the center of the ship which, admittedly, wasn’t far away.

“But-”

“No complaints! Unless you’re complaining about Dad’n’port being shirtless on the table.”

“Can’t I complain about  _ Merle _ ?” Barry countered. 

He stood side-by-side with Lup, as the crew celebrated and Taako called out, “Put it back on!” as he chucked a wine cork at Merle’s head.

Lup just beamed.


	5. Cycle 4 - The World Where Lup is Being a Nerd with Barry

Taako wasn’t usually one to complain about being left the fuck alone, but lately, he’d been spending most days completely by himself until about dinnertime, which was a pretty quiet affair most days. It wasn’t that he didn’t have a lot to do, because he was plenty busy stocking the ship’s food supplies, just in case they didn’t land on a world that was as abundant as this one.

But the days were quiet. Magnus had died early on in the cycle as they retrieved the Light and Lup and Barry holed up in the bunkroom most days, hunched over the Light and a stack of notebooks as they discussed and theorized and scienced-or whatever it was they did. Lucretia spent some of her time documenting their hypotheses and the rest sitting outside with her notebooks or, more recently, going with Merle and Davenport to gather food.

Taako wasn’t just sitting around all day being lonely, but...sometimes when he walked past the bunks, Lup and Barry wouldn’t even notice him. Sometimes, when he took lunch in for them, Lup would be so engrossed in her work that she wouldn’t even look up as she thanked him. It grated on his nerves, but Taako didn’t mention it. He kept the ship fed with three square meals a day and spent his free time preserving the excess for the storeroom, and in his head, Taako was filing grievances against every other person on the damn ship the whole time.

Lucretia was the first one to mention it. She approached him halfway through the cycle about how snappy he’d been, but Taako waved her off and kept his complaints to himself. She offered to help, to take over meals for a week or so and give him a break, but Taako had shot her down and insulted her cooking skills, so she hadn’t brought it back up.

It was only a month until the Hunger would arrive when he finally snapped. Lup had come out to the kitchen just before dinner and leaned against the counter. 

“Hey, bro. ‘Sup?”

Taako spared her an unsmiling glance from the stove, and turned back without a word.

Lup paused, frowning. “D’ya need help?” 

She started to come around to where he stood, but Taako whipped around with a scowl and a dull, “No, thanks.”

Lup stopped. “Taako, what’s wrong?”

He threw a spoon into one of the pots and gave it an overly-aggressive stir. “Nothing,” he told her. “Move, I need in that drawer.”

Lup put her hands on her hips. “No _. _ ”

Taako’s back straightened. “Excuse me?”

Lup held her ground. “I said,  _ no _ . Tell me what’s the matter, Taako,” she added, more gently.

Taako looked like he was going to answer for a moment, but just as Lup thought he was opening his mouth to speak, she heard footsteps behind her as Barry came into the room and Taako’s demeanor hardened. He crossed his arms and took a half-step closer in the tiny kitchen. “What’s the matter is that you’re blocking the drawer that has my fucking cheese grater, so if you want fucking cheese on your vegetables tonight, you have to fucking  _ move _ .”

“Fuck you!” Lup shot back, jabbing a finger at his chest. “You’ve been getting moody and miserable, and Lucretia offered to fucking help and you turned her down, so  _ now _ you’re gonna complain? Is that what this is?”

“I don’t need the fucking  _ help _ ,” Taako barked back.

“Hey, lets just-” Barry tried to break them up, coming up behind Lup.

“Then why are you being such a  _ dick _ ?” Lup raised her voice.

“Can we stop fighting?” Barry asked, tiredly. 

“ _ I’m  _ not being a dick,  _ you  _ are!” Taako screamed, and that’s when he broke. Lup was initially confused, then stunned into silence, and Barry didn’t even dare to try to get him to stop shouting as Taako plowed on. “You’ve just been cozying up to Barry Bluejeans all year and you don’t even have a half-second to be decent and even  _ look _ at me when I bring you fucking lunch! What the fuck  _ am _ I to you! Huh?” He snapped a finger to make the pots on the stove stir and to turn the flame off before it burnt, then kept going, only fractionally quieter. “We used to be fucking  _ best friends _ -“

“Taako-“ Lup’s voice was thick with tears now. “We still  _ are _ -“

Taako crossed his arms again. “Are we  _ really? _ ” He asked quietly, and stepped around Lup, striding past Barry without a glance. “Serve yourselves your cheese-less fucking vegetables,” Taako said to no one in particular, not turning to speak to either Barry or Lup, and slammed the door to his bunkroom.

 

It was late when the knock came. Taako wasn’t really in the mood to talk to Lup yet, so he tried to ignore it, but after a few moments there was the sound of shifting feel and another soft knock. The vomit-inducing little ball of anxiety in Taako’s stomach clenched as he steeled himself for whatever she was going to say.

“Taako?” The voice on the other side of the door was gruff, and it made Taako start. He’s expected Lup. “Taako, are you awake?” It was Barry, and he sounded exhausted.

Taako sat up, then froze.

“Look,” Barry started, “I don’t really want to do this through the door, so d’you think you could-?”

Taako flicked a hand at the door and it unlocked with a sharp  _ click _ .

“Uh-?” Barry hesitated.

Taako rolled his eyes and got up to open the door himself. “Come in,” he sighed.

Barry nodded, pushed the door closed behind him, and came over to sit beside Taako on the edge of the bed.

“So…?” Taako deadpanned. “What did she want you to tell me?”

Barry frowned. “Lup didn’t want me to come talk to you at all. She’s really upset, Taako.”

Taako looked down at his knees.

“Look, I never meant to come between you two,” Barry told him, and Taako hated how sincere he sounded. He  _ knew  _ that Barry was a good guy, and that made it  _ so _ hard to be angry at him. “I-I’m worried,” Barry sighed. “She been working too hard, and I know I’ve sort of been squirreled away with her lately, but she still loves you, Taako. She wants to figure this out so that we can all go  _ home _ .”

“I  _ know _ that,” Taako’s shoulders sagged.

Barry paused, “You know, you still have each other...”

“Yeah…”

Barry sighed. “Look, I don’t want to...y’know, step on anyone’s toes or anything, but I talked to Cap’n’port and we’re all taking a break tomorrow. Lucretia and I are going to make dinner, so you and Lup...just...go hash it out. And if you two decide that you need the rest of this cycle, then take the rest of the cycle off too, okay?”

Taako swallowed hard. “Barry...we’re fighting right now...what makes you think we wanna spend the day together?”

Barry gave him a ‘look’-one that said ‘come  _ on _ ’ and stood, shaking his head and going toward the door. “Look, you can spend the free time sulking in your rooms, but…” he shrugged, “I think you’ve spent enough time apart, right? Isn’t that what’s this is really about, anyways?”

“Fuck You Barold!” Taako spat, “You don’t know us!”

Barry was unfazed. “No. I don’t,” he said calmly.

Taako sent a force spell at Barry to push him out the door and waved a hand to slam the door in his face.


	6. Cycle 5 - The World Where It’s Always Night

Taako and Magnus had been practically joined at the hip since the fifth year had started. Mostly, it was because Magnus could hardly see anything in the constant darkness that blanketed the world they’d landed on and Taako’s darkvision, though limited, was much more useful here. When the Light had fallen, the crew had a brief glimpse of a tiny streak of the world, but it seemed to be deserted so far. They hadn’t found any animals on the surface yet, and only a few edible-looking plants which didn’t seem to harbor much nutrition, but fascinated Merle all the same.

Taako and Lup has been going out of their way to have a twins’ night once a week, but Taako had still been spending most days with Magnus.

“Give me your fucking hand,” Taako grabbed at his arm as they sat in the common area. Magnus was sprawled out on a cushion on the floor, resting his back against the couch. It was almost completely dark save the little reading light mounted to Magnus’ book, and they’d drawn shutters over the windows to block the light from it.

“What do you want my hand for?” Magnus looked worried for a moment as he put down his book, but quickly spotted the bottle in Taako’s hands, even in the dim light. “Nail polish? Why aren’t you painting your  _ own _ nails?”

Taako shrugged. “It might not match my outfit. Gimme.”

Magnus rolled his eyes, but let him do as he pleased, even going as far as to sit still and to have Taako turn his pages until it dried so that he didn’t mess up the tips.

“You’re a better guinea pig for this than I expected,” Taako said cheerfully.

Magnus looked over curiously. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “I dunno, you’re sort of...antsy usually, I guess? You fidget a  _ lot _ , my dude. ‘M just surprised you kept it looking nice until it dried and everything. Lup  _ always _ messes hers up.”

Magnus blinked, “I just didn’t wanna mess it up when you spent so much time making them look nice,” he said simply.

“Oh.”  _ That  _ surprised Taako more, stunning him into a moment of silence. “Uh-thanks. Hey, could you turn the light out for a sec, I wanna poke me head out the window.”

“Yeah, just don’t let Dav catch you,” Magnus switched off his tiny reading light and threw the cabin into complete darkness as he listened to Taako navigate over to take a look.

“This place is fuckin’ barren. Dunno why we don’t just turn the lights on,” Taako sighed, but they both knew that it was dangerous. They’d seen the Light crash, after all, but when they’d gone to recover it, it was gone. Davenport had instituted the no lights rule as a safety precaution, and so far every light they’d thrown out in the wilderness had disappeared too, so it seemed like a wise idea to keep things dark.

“Nothin’ going on out there?” Magnus asked. He heard Taako pull the shutters closed again and heard the rustle of tape as he sealed it back up.

“Nah. You can turn the light back on now if you want,” he sighed. 

Magnus shrugged. “I’m good for now.”

It was weird, how the humans did things they were unaware of in the darkness. Lucretia would still look around constantly, as if expecting something to be suddenly be visible to her. Barry, who was terrified of the dark, barely left his bunk room, but when he did, he flinched at everything and held his arms crossed over his ribcage. He often kept his eyes shut, and Taako noticed his hands twitch every now and then, as if he wanted to reach out and grab Lup’s arm when she spoke, even if they were just sitting at the dinner table. And Magnus just sort of stared off, and Taako was pretty sure he forgot that other people could still see him even if he couldn’t see his own hand in front of his face. He was usually a pretty smiling, outgoing guy, but in the dark, when he didn’t know they were looking, Taako noticed a lot of glum looks and sagging shoulders.

Today, however, Magnus was running his fingertips over the smooth polish of the other hand, over and over again. Taako saw him feel the polish of each finger on the left hand in turn, stopping with the thumb, and smile a little to himself as he let his head fall back onto the couch cushions.


	7. Cycle 6 - The World Where Every Day Feels Like an Acid Trip

The sixth cycle was especially hard on the elves and gnome. From the moment they’d entered the atmosphere, Davenport and the twins had gotten seriously loopy.

In the first three weeks, it wasn’t uncommon to find Davenport and Lup talking to themselves, awake or sleeping at odd hours, or watching something that the rest of the crew couldn’t see. Merle said it looked like an acid trip, but none of the crew knew why it had only affected three of them. Barry guessed it had to do with their races and predilection for magic.

And Taako-he was the only one who got paranoid. At least once a week, he wigged out and started talking about eyes watching them. He insisted that even in the dark and with a blanket over his head, the eyes could see  _ everything _ . For the rest of the crew, it was really disconcerting to watch.

“Isn’t there  _ anything  _ we can do to help them?” Lucretia asked desperately. “Taako’s really starting to scare me.”

“What if we just...put a sleeping spell over them?” Magnus asked. “Would...would that be  _ bad _ ?”

“We can’t,” Lucretia shook her head. “Logistically, it just wouldn’t work.”

“And it wouldn’t be  _ right, _ ” Barry added, frowning.

“Maybe...do you think it’s a  _ poison _ ? I could try to give one of them immunity to poison,” Merle offered. “But I can only make it last for one person each day. It’ll take a  _ lot _ of spell slots and I’ll have to refresh it throughout the day.  _ If _ it even works.”

“Why didn’t you mention this  _ earlier _ ?” Lucretia gaped. 

Merle looked sheepish. “Uh-I sort of…forgot that I could do it.”

“Try it,” Barry urged. “Try it  _ now _ .”

Merle glanced at the rest of the table, who all nodded. “Okay. So...Lup, c’mere.”

“Wait,” Magnus interrupted. “Should we try it in  _ Taako _ first?”

“No,” Lucretia shook her head. “In case something doesn’t work right. He’s having enough of a bad time with this.”

Merle nodded. “Okay,” he went to Lup, where she was standing next to the window and looking confused, and touched her on the forehead as he clutched his holy symbol and said a few unintelligible words.

The humans watched as Lup blinked, shaking her head. “Lup?” Magnus asked.

She focused in on him and furrowed her brow, slowly coming back to normal.

“Lup, do you feel okay?” Magnus asked. 

“Oh...yeah,” she said slowly. “What  _ happened _ to me? Was I  _ drugged _ ?”

“Sort of,” Merle told her. “This whole world is having some  _ weird _ effects on you and your brother and the Captain.”

“Lup,” Lucretia asked, “Do you  _ remember  _ what’s been happening this whole time?”

“Uh-sort of? It’s a little fuzzy. Mostly I just feel sort of...dumb-like everything is  _ so _ bright and colorful, and there are like...these  _ things _ , like ghosts or something, but they’re…friendly, I guess. Or not hostile, at least. And then there's the  _ eyes _ . Fuckin’  _ creepy _ . But everything is so...it’s like it is now, but  _ more _ . Fuck, I sound stoned, don’t I?”

“Absolutely,” Merle nodded.

“Lup, Taako hasn’t been handling this as well as you,” Lucretia told her gently. “Would it be okay to let you go back to being in that state again so the we can help Taako?”

“Actually, it’ll last for an hour,” Merle piped in helpfully.

“Yeah?” Lup whipped her head around, looking for him.

“He’s usually in the hall,” Magnus got up and went out toward the bunkrooms. Taako was exactly where Magnus suspected, sitting in the middle of the hallway in a ball, knees to chest, staring up at the blank wall. “Taako,” he said tentatively. “Hey, can you c’mere?”

Taako turned wide, sleepless eyes on him.

“Come with me?” Magnus offered a hand, which Taako inspected with suspicion for a long moment before he took it. “There we go, come up here,” Magnus pulled him to his feet and steered him to the kitchen table. “Merle,” Magnus pressed. “Do your thing.”

Merle did the same motion and string of words, and Taako came around much like Lup had. With a few moments of confusion, a shake of the head and a look of dawning comprehension. “F-fuck,” he stuttered. His eyes focused on Merle, and Taako threw his arms around the old man, hunching over into a ball to envelop him in a tight hug. “Thank you,” they all heard him whisper, his voice hoarse and shaking.

Even Lup looked away.

Davenport and Lup both agreed to stay stoned out of their fucking minds for the rest of the year. It wasn’t ideal, but they were both insistent that it was much less of traumatic experience for them. Taako took it upon himself to do whatever he could to help manage their psychosis, keeping them well-fed and safe and making sure they slept.


	8. Cycle 7 - The World Where the Shopping is Good

“Taako!” Lup practically pounced on him. “Let’s go shopping! There’s a  _ huge _ fashion district and all kinds of fancy shit! Plus, we’ve got _ tons _ of money.”

Taako groaned. “Uh-I can’t,” he said evasively. “Gotta help Cap’n’port fix the sink.”

“Taako, you don’t know how to fix a fucking sink. Why won’t you come shopping?”

He deflated. “I might be able to  _ learn _ to fix stuff,” he insisted. “Look, why don’t you go with someone else? You know I don’t like shopping much.”

“But if you don’t come with, you’re gonna steal all my new clothes!”

Taako couldn’t really argue with that. It was true, after all. “Maybe...you can pick me up something, so I won’t take yours?”

Lup sighed. “Fine. I’ll go see if Lucretia wants to go.”

“Actually, I was gonna suggest Maggie,” Taako said offhandedly. 

“ _ Magnus _ ?” Lup gave him an odd look. “I dunno if that’s his jam, bro.”

Taako just shrugged. “Ask him, is all I’m sayin.”

And Lup was  _ so _ glad she did. Magnus was the last person she had expected to enjoy a shopping trip with, but he was  _ way _ more fun than Taako. He wasn’t just willing to help carry all of her bags, but paid attention to all the little details in her outfits and gave his opinions freely. He even picked out a baller jacket that Taako was going to  _ die for _ , plus a few other pieces that Lup had passed up on the rack but ended up loving once he got her to try them on.

“-And he even told me straight up that this pair of mom-jeans made me my ass look like a balloon. Strong arms _and_ a spot-on fashion sense. He’s like...the _best_ shopping buddy!”

“Told ya,” Taako grinned. “I’m glad you had fun, sis.”

“Why  _ did _ you think I’d like going shopping?” Magnus asked, curious.

Taako shrugged. “You seemed like the personality, that’s all.”

“But...shopping’s sort of...girly.”

Taako barked out a laugh. “Uh-look, I dunno why humans get so hung up on gendered stereotypes. You’re very honest, you’re not afraid to share your opinion, and you have  _ tons _ of energy, which  _ I _ do  _ not _ have for that kind of thing. It’s got nothing to do with being girly, Mags. I mean,  _ look _ at you,” he eyes Magnus’ arms for a moment. 

Lup grinned. “Yeah, you tell ‘em, Taako.  _ Hey _ , look what Magnus picked out for you,” she dug around and held out a white leather jacket.

“Oh my _god_ , is that a _tiger_ on the back?” Taako dropped his measuring cup and grabbed the jacket from her hands. “This is fucking _amazing_! Magnus, how did you _know_?” Taako started to thread his arms through without waiting for an answer. He pulled it closed, did a little spin, and pulled Magnus into a quick hug. “This is _so_ _bomb_!”

“Uh-you’re welcome?” Magnus returned meekly, a little caught off-guard, even after Taako had pulled away to admire himself in the mirror.

“You good?” Lup asked him, furrowing her brow.

“I’m good,” Magnus nodded, but Lup kept giving him a  _ look _ . “It’s...it’s dumb. Don’t worry about it.”

“Mags?” Taako had stopped posing for himself and was looking concerned up at Magnus’ face.

“I’m  _ fine _ ,” he insisted, and tried to sidestep back toward the bunks, but Lup didn’t move aside in the cramped quarters.

“Magnus, I need to know you’re okay,” she said gently.

“I’m  _ fine _ ,” he repeated, looking back and forth between the twins. It didn’t take long for him to cave. “I just...I just realized that I haven’t had a hug for...over six years. Not since...since the first time I died and  _ you _ um-gave me a hug,” he finished lamely, looking up to Lup. There was a long moment of silence, in which the twins both looked heartbroken. Magnus went on the defensive. “It’s...it’s not like...a  _ weird _ thing, or...a  _ sexual  _ thing, it’s just...I dunno…”

“C’mere,” Lup drew him into her arms, and Magnus couldn’t deny the contact. He wanted that. He  _ needed _ that, and he didn’t even think to squeeze her back until Taako came over to them and wrapped his arms around them both. They stood in an awkward pile in the middle of the kitchen, unspeaking, until they heard the bang of footsteps on the stairs outside.

They went back to cooking and unpacking their shopping haul and chatting about the day as Davenport came in, and they didn’t talk about it again. It changed the dynamic between them in a way that became the new normal. Every once in a while, Lup or-more often-Taako would lay a hand on Magnus’ shoulder or his waist as they navigated the small space of the ship, and sometimes they’d hug him for no reason at all, but they still didn’t talk about it. Their crew mates noticed, but they didn’t ask why Taako was suddenly so much more affectionate.


	9. Cycle 8 - The World Where Lucretia Dreams of Fire

Lucretia wasn’t usually one to get in on the action, but this world was hauntingly beautiful and so surreal that she couldn’t pass up the chance to go along in finding the Light.

The forest was spooky. They traveled only in the dark, as they hiked and hacked and burned their way through the thick stems of fungus while the mushroom-beings were away. Lucretia felt a pressing sense of danger, both from the forest itself and the knowledge that one slip of the mask and she could breathe in the fatal spores around them.

She had started dreaming about the flamethrowers. She dreamed that they were burning her. Sometimes she dreamed that they were burning her friends and burning through the ship’s hull. And oftentimes, she dreamed that they were burning their homeworld, back where they’d all started this whole thing. The seven of them had a flamethrower in each hand when the Hunger attacked the IPRE, and as they tried to light the Hunger ablaze, they destroyed the world around them too.

“Lucretia?” Lup’s voice jolted her out of her sleep. There was a hand on her shoulder. “Easy. Take it easy, okay?” Lup soothed.

“What’s the matter?” Lucretia asked, sitting up on one elbow to look around. It was daytime, and there was one other person-one of the gnomes from town-awake and keeping watch.

“You were having a bad dream, I think,” Lup said gently. “Here,” she pulled a rag out of her pack and passed it over, and Lucretia had to stare at it for a moment before she realized how badly she was sweating. She wiped her face and sat up a little straighter. “You alright?” Lup asked. 

“Yeah,” Lucretia felt the dream slipping away from her as she woke, until the only thing she could remember was flame. “I never remember my dreams,” she sighed.

“No? Well, it must have been pretty ugly,” Lup frowned. “Maybe it’s better if you don’t know.”

Lucretia sighed. “What time is it?”

“About midday,” Lup shrugged, squinting up at the sky. The spores were thick around them, obscuring the sun enough that it was difficult to place its position.

Lucretia blinked slowly at Lup. “You do really well out here,” she said, and Lup looked up curiously. “I mean, with the...roughing it and all. You’re just...you’re a survivor, huh? I mean, you can see how much I’m struggling here. This is  _ not _ what I thrive at, obviously.”

“You’re doing just fine out here, Lu. You’re holding up good,” Lup told her. “Really.”

“I don’t know about that,” Lucretia grimaced.

“You  _ are _ ,” Lup insisted. “Look, everyone’s good at different things. I’m good at setting shit in fire. It’s my  _ specialty _ , dude. I was  _ made _ to make this trip. But you’re a storyteller, and you were never prepared for  _ any _ of what we’re doing here, but you’re trying anyways, and you’re doing  _ great _ . To me, the fact that you’re here with us and trying means a  _ lot _ , and the fact that you’re doing well enough to not only pull your own weight, but he help us out here-that says  _ so much _ about how hard you’re trying.”

“You mean you would’ve been happy if I just managed to stay out of the way?” Lucretia asked, trying to lighten the mood a little. “Man, I could’ve gotten  _ so  _ much more shit done.”

Lip giggled and punched her lightly on the arm. “No turnin’ back now, Lu.”

“Damn,” she smiled.


	10. Cycle 9 - The World Where Chilly Sponge Baths Heat Up

The crew spent most of the ninth year shivering. The world they had landed on was the coldest they’d encountered yet, and even with the furnace running constantly, it just barely produced enough heat to keep the common area at zero degrees.

The bunks were left unused, as the crew had instituted a cuddle-pile of mattresses where the couch usually sat, and most days were spent sitting around in blanket-burritos. It was a little too-intimate most days, especially considering their utter lack of privacy. The bunkrooms were all around negative twenty degrees, which included the bathrooms. Showers were out of the picture, so they took turns hauling in ice to melt in pots on the stove so they could at least have a sponge bath every week. It still got cold towards the end, but it was tolerable.

“Mother _ fucker _ ,” Taako’s teeth chattered. “Gimmie that,” he grabbed a dry towel from the counter where Barry set down his clothes. “I’m so fucking done.”

Barry, who was shivering in the nude as he scrubbed his armpit, scowled. “At least get me another dry towel!”

“Damnit!” Taako wrapped his hair up in Barry’s towel and pulled a blanket around himself. “Fine, hold on a sec,” he stepped out to the other side of the curtain they’d drawn between the kitchen and common area, and Barry heard him tell Lup to bring an extra towel with her before the blow dryer drowned out all other sounds.

“Um-?” Lup poked her head around the curtain, pointedly not-looking at where Barry was bathing. “Towel?” She squeaked, holding it out awkwardly.

Barry paused, even though he wanted to end the bath as quickly as possible, and gave her an odd look as he took it. “Uh- thanks, Lup. It’s...it’s okay, you know. I trust you not to peek,” he teased. 

“Oh,” she flushed. “Uh-I’ll just...wait ‘till you’re done,” she said evasively, and went back around the curtain. It struck Barry as odd, because Lup wasn’t a shy person by any stretch and they’d all become way more comfortable with each other than most people would consider normal, but he shrugged off the incident and hurried up to finish his bath. 

He didn’t think about it until almost two months later. It was cold, of course, and getting toward evening when Lup called everyone over to eat. She sounded a little annoyed, but that wasn’t really unusual for the crew at the moment. Sitting at the table was the only thing they still did like  _ normal _ , every night, even when they all really wanted to stay in their blanket piles and not move. Taako, of all people, had been the one to insist on it, and despite their complaints, they’d all continued. If nothing else, it broke up the monotony.

Barry helped Lup pass out plates and silverware, and he tried to help her get the food to the table, but she gave him a grumpy look that made him step back and let her handle it. 

They shoveled down as many calories as they could in order to combat the negative forty degree winds that ravaged just on the other side of the ship’s walls. Lup and Taako made sure to have desert with every meal, and Barry, for one, was incredibly grateful for all of the food that they’d stored away in the previous cycles. Taako, in particular, had spent a lot of time and effort stocking the pantry, and this year it had saved their lives.

When they were done eating and Lup started to clear away the dishes, the rest of the crew started to meander back to the mattress pile, already throwing blankets over their heads. Barry, however, went to the sink and picked up the sponge. 

“What are you doing?” Lup asked tiredly.

Barry took the plates from her hands. “I’ll get these,” he told her quietly. “You seem like you’re having a bad day.”

Lup froze, then looked down guiltily. “Uh-sorry,” she sighed. “I-uh...I didn’t mean to be-“

“It’s fine,” Barry did gently. “Just go...do whatever you need to do. I’ve got this.”

She bit her lip. “Okay,” she nodded, looking hesitant. She leaned down to place a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks, Bar.”

He went a little red but nodded and said, quieter, “if you need to talk-“

“I’ll be okay,” she insisted, flushing deep red for reasons that left Barry stumped.

It would only be another month before he figured it out. It was on a Wednesday, which meant it was bath day, and Davenport had brought in pots of ice and snow to melt down while Lup hung curtains between the kitchen and the rest of the cabin. Barry had overheard her tell Taako, in a hushed voice, to wait until the second to last bath and let her go after. 

“What?  _ Why _ ?” He asked suspiciously, but he kept his voice low.

“Just- _ please _ ?” she asked. She sounded desperate. “Just  _ do it _ . I’ll owe you one, okay? A  _ big  _ one.”

“Jeezy-creezy, oh- _ kay _ ,” Taako eyed her oddly for a long moment before a look of horror crossed his face. “ _ Lup _ ,” he whispered, suddenly sounding disgusted. “You’re  _ not-?” _

“Shut  _ up _ ,” she hissed. “This place is driving me up the fucking wall _ , okay _ ?”

“I am  _ not _ okay with this!” Taako’s voice was rising a little, and Lup looked frantic.

“Shh! Just-you know what,  _ nevermind _ . Fuck you!” Next time you need a favor, don’t ask me,” she hissed.

“But-I mean, could you even seriously-when everyone is _four_ _feet_ away?”

Lup didn’t answer, and Barry was too embarrassed to keep listening now that he’d gotten the gist of the conversation.

The thing was, Barry had been trying to find a place to be even remotely warm and in private for a while too, but it seemed like a lost cause. Baths seemed like the only plausible opportunity, but they were risky. He could be caught, or heard or walked in on at any moment, especially since they usually bathed two at a time, with one person on each side of the island. Frustrated as he’d been, Barry had not been willing to risk jerking it in the middle of the kitchen.

Barry frowned when Taako insisted that Lup bathe before him, making sure that she take the second turn. The frustrated glare Lup threw toward Taako as she stood up as enough to make Barry do something stupid. When Lucretia came out of the other side, just a minute later, Barry stood and took her place on the other side of the island. He undressed, keeping turned away from Lup, without speaking until he heard the hair dryer start up.

“Lup?” He said quietly. He made sure to keep his voice low enough that the others wouldn’t overhear.

There was a moment, and then a cautious, “Yeah?”

Barry swallowed hard. “I-uh-I overheard what you asked Taako,” he admitted, and took a breath to compose himself, suddenly aware that Lup had turned around to face him, naked behind the counter. “I...I know a little magic. I can cast _silence_ , but-ah, it’s sorta...hard to maintain concentration…”

Lup was quiet for long enough that Barry chanced a look at her, careful to keep his eyes near face level even though her arms were over her chest. He didn’t find the disgust he expected. Instead, he found a pair of surprised, but hopeful eyes above burning red cheeks.

“I know  _ silence _ too,” she offered finally.

Barry glanced toward the curtain. “You’ll have to tap me or throw something when you want the spell lifted,” he said, blushing harder now that this was real.

“Do it now,” she told him urgently, so he did. He cast the spell and kept his back turned, washing slowly so as not to be done before she was ready. It didn’t seem like he needed to take the time, however. He felt a timid tap on the shoulder after seemingly no time at all, and he made the mistake of glancing over to make sure it was okay to lift the spell.

She was breathing hard, hands shaking, and her eyes were brighter than usual. She gave a little nod, not quite meeting his eyes, and he lifted concentration.

“Okay?” She asked quietly, lifting her own hands slightly away from her chest to get ready to cast.

Barry turned away, nodding. He knew the moment the spell took hold, and as soon as he felt the magic, he checked to see that she wasn’t watching and dropped to his knees, leaning back against the cupboards to stroke himself. It wasn’t the most comfortable, especially with the weather wreaking havoc on his old joints and his knees pressed uncomfortably into the cold tile, but he didn’t find much trouble ignoring the less-than-sensual downsides of his position. It took only a moment to coax himself into the mood, since he was already keyed up and between the excitement of being so close to being caught, of Lup being a foot away and knowing full well what he was doing, plus the fact that it was the first time he’d been able to relieve himself for  _ months _ . Barry didn’t last long at all. It was barely even pleasurable, but a few rough strokes was what he’d needed.

He gave himself a short moment to collect himself, stand on shaky legs and wash his hands before he turned back to tap Lup’s shoulder. She was standing fully dressed against the counter with her hair wrapped up in a towel, and jumped when he touched her. She lifted the spell, gave him a little nod, and left without another word.

Barry finished bathing as quickly as possible and was already throwing clothes on when Taako came in. Barry didn’t acknowledge him, and when he went back around the curtain,  Barry made a point not to look at Lup.

If, every  few weeks, for the rest of the cycle, Barry made a point not to look at Lup for a day, no one seemed to notice. 


	11. Cycle 10- The World Where Everyone’s Fucking Starving

It was pure bad luck that they’d landed on another planet without anything edible. During the blizzard-like conditions of the previous year, the crew had eaten a massive amount of canned and dried goods to help stave off the cold. This year, the world around them was nothing but sand. They found the light within the first six months, but the real challenge was getting enough food.

Taako had gone through the ships stores meticulously, and determined that they could survive the year, just as long as no one ate anything they weren’t supposed to. 

In the first few days, after it became clear that there was nothing edible underground, Taako sat down and made a detailed meal plan that used every bit of food on the ship. He had thoughtfully spaced out a meal once per week that was just a little more filling, to give them something to look forward to and ‘binge’ on. It would be far from ideal, but they’d survive just as long as Davenport kept the desalinator running.

So alive, but hangry, the crew schlupped through the year in a bit of a daze. Their ultra low caloric intake quickly made it hard to think clearly, do any sort of strenuous activity or to even bother with niceties. They drank extra water, both because of the dry desert air and because it filled their stomachs.

Taako and Lup had gone over a few basics to help the rest of the crew at the beginning of the year.

“It helps to drink a glass of water before you eat, and take a drink between every bite,” Lup told them, gathered around the table: “I know it sounds stupid, but it’ll help.”

“Yeah, and we only have so much protein, since we don’t really have much meat or anything. I know it seems like we should have meat for Sunday dinners, but I’ve got it planned out so that we have a decent bit of protein in the middle of the week, that way it’ll tide us back over to the next Sunday dinner. And beans and rice count as a meat this year. Sorry, Mags. Uh-what else?”

Lup frowned. “Um-if you start getting a headache, have some black coffee. We’ve got plenty of that. And...when you’re eating, take small bites,” she suggested.

“Yeah, eat  _ slow _ ,” Taako looked at Magnus in particular, who was frowning. “And no judgement, okay, we’re gonna have some  _ weird _ combinations on the menu to make this work.”

“If you don’t like something, add some spice and eat it anyways,” Lup said cheerfully.

“Guys,” Magnus looked worried. “We’ll all be okay. We can get through this. It’s only one year,” he said confidently. “What really concerns me is that you two know so much about how to eat when you don’t have any food.”

Taako and Lup shared a look, and the table fell silent.

Merle placed a hand on Lup’s arm, and she sighed, “Look, this wouldn’t be the first time we’ve gone hungry, but...as long as there’s food to be found next year, we’ll definitely make it through okay. The thing we’ve got to watch out for is our tempers. When people get hungry, they get moody. We’ve got to keep our cool with each other.”

“Maybe we can have a quiet room, for when one of us starts getting too cranky, we just go there,” Merle suggested. 

“You already have your own room,” Davenport shot back.

Merle opened his mouth in indignation, then snapped it shut again. “Okay, I might have been asking for that one,” he admitted, grinning. “Oh!” He jumped up, obviously having an idea. “ _ Oh _ , I think…”

“What is it, boy? Did grandpa have an idea?” Taako mocked. 

“Shut it,” Merle waved him off. “Hey, Maybe my room  _ can _ be the chill room. I have this spell, it’s  _ calm emotions _ . I sort of forgot that I can do it, actually. It was the last spell I learned to do before we left.”

“That might actually be useful,” Davenport admitted. “You have  _ got  _ to work on your magic more. How have you gone  _ nine years _ and we’ve never seen this spell?”

“Okay, so Merle’s room is the chill spot now? Fuck  _ me _ ,” Lup groaned.

Merle was happy to have the visitors, though. Once in a while, someone’s temper would get the better of them and all it took was a finger pointed in the direction of Merle’s door and the offending party would go in to cool down. Perhaps unfairly, because his temper was worst to begin with, Taako was the most frequent visitor.

“What’cha in for?” Merle began waving his hands and muttering the spell as Taako slumped to the floor next to his bed.

“Lup told me I was being too harsh on Magnus,” he sighed, already feeling the anger dissipating. His words took on an uncharacteristic monotony and his shoulders sagged.

“And do  _ you _ think you’re being hard on him?” Merle pressed.

“Probably. He’s been losing a  _ lot _ of weight, and I  _ know  _ that, but he still eats more than anyone else here. Davenport usually gives Maggie part of his dinner, and sometimes I give an extra spoonful from my plate too, but...I dunno, he still looks  _ so _ bad. I just wanna be able to feed everyone and make everyone  _ happy _ . And…”

“And?” Merle prompted. 

“If there’s no food on the next world, we’re fucked. There isn’t gonna be any extra. I’ve been wondering if maybe we just have too many mouths to feed. Maybe I should put aside enough calories to keep a gnome alive for another year and off myself, just in case next year is another wasteland.”

“Taako,” Merle frowned. “We’re gonna make it, okay? You can’t worry about that stuff.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “I know.”

There was a beat of silence, and Merle asked, “how long have you been thinking this sort of thing?”

“Since our second day on this dump,” Taako answered honestly.

“Have you told Lup?”

“Have I told my twin sister, whom I love, that I think I should hang myself? I don’t fucking think so,” Taako deadpanned.

“Taako, I know it wouldn’t be a particularly pleasant conversation, but you should talk about it.”

“I’m telling you, now,”  he countered.

“And I’m glad that you trusted me enough to do that, but look, we both know you don’t exactly  _ like _ me.”

Taako blinked slowly, “That’s not true,” he said simply.

Merle grimaced. “It is, but…that’s not the point. The point is, you have  _ friends  _ here in this ship, and if you tell them what’s going on, they can help you get through this.”

“You mean they can help you with suicide watch,” Taako sighed. “No thanks, pal.”

“I don’t think you’re going to do it,” Merle said, after another awkward pause.

Taako shook his head. “No,” he sounded almost disappointed. “I still think I  _ should _ , but I’m too much of a coward.”

“No,” Merle corrected, “You’re a  _ survivor _ .”

“Oh,  _ barf _ ,” Taako scowled. “I think your spell is donezo, old man.”


	12. Cycle 11 - The World Where Spaceships Do Not Belong

The Starblaster was all-too-obviously out of place here. The agrarian communities around them hadn’t advanced past windmills and horse-drawn farm equipment, so the concept of a  _ spaceship _ was so far beyond their comprehension that it had caused a wave of fear and panic that had run the crew out of their original landing spot. Especially after they’d seen Taako and Lup, with their elven ears that were foreign to this land, and strange clothes and a strange manner of speaking. The crew had been forced to relocate on their second night, but thankfully, they’d landed closer to where the Light had ended up anyways.

So the crew hid the Starblaster in a thicket of bushes and trees, helped by a layer of Davenport’s illusion magic. There was a fairly large town nearby, and surrounding it was a sprawling system of farmlands and fisheries that were connected by dirt roads and sectioned off in neat little squares by hedgerows. After their last couple of years, this world looked like eden.

The humans were the best at fitting in here. Every afternoon, Magnus went to the market and bought as much food as he could carry, and the townsfolk had started calling him ‘The Pit’ since every time someone asked him what he was doing with all the food, he just told them he was hungry.

In reality, they were stocking the ship back up and enjoying the lavish variety of culinary options available to them after a year of starvation. Merle had taken to saying grace before meals, and even Taako usually shut up while the old man thanked Pan for the food on their table.

“Hey, maybe  _ we _ should learn to garden,” Merle said, as they began to pass dinner around the table one evening.

“Oh, gross,” Taako ladled a bit of gravy over his potatoes. “No one wants to see you fuck a carrot, Merle. And besides, we always arrive at the end of summer. You’re usually supposed to start planting around spring, aren’t you?”

“Well, that’s true,” Merle conceded, “About the planting, not the carrot and thing, but...I think some things grow on the off seasons. I’ll need to figure out how to garden. What about beans? We could grow beans.”

“No one wants to eat your beans either, old man,” Lup rolled her eyes.

Barry, who had been staring off absently, snorted into his plate and went into a coughing fit, which in turn made Lucretia giggle and soon the whole table shook with stifled laughter. Or, in the twins’ case, outright laughter.

“Hey, thanks for the grub, Pan,” Taako said casually, still grinning as he popped a brussel sprout into his mouth.

“Oh, yeah,” Merle seemed to remember  hat he hadn’t finished grace. “Thank you for this food! I’m glad we’re able to eat this year. Sorry that we’re being a little greedy and stocking up, but...well,  _ you _ know that it’s a weird situation down here so I’ll spare the explanation. Amen.”

“Ah- _ men _ .”

“About fucking  _ time _ ,” Taako stabbed a fork into his plate. 

“So, d’ya think you could help me rig up some sorta irrigation system, Barry?” Merle asked casually.

“Uh,” he faltered, making Lup look over. “Yeah, sure,” he shrugged unenthusiastically.

“Great!” Merle beamed, and he started babbling on about ideas for how to set it up, seemingly oblivious to the face that Barry was hardly even listening. Lup watched him give a hum of agreement or a nod every once in a while, but it was clear that his thoughts were elsewhere.

“Lup?” Taako furrowed his brows, following her line of sight and slowly breaking out into a grin. “See something you like over there?” Taako teased, quietly.

Lup frowned, “D’ya think Barry’s okay?”

Taako shrugged, disappointed that he hadn’t managed to fluster her. “He’s a nice guy.”

Lup shot him an incredulous look, “ _ No _ , like do you think he’s  _ doing _ okay?”

Taako tilted his head, glancing at Barry with a more critical eye. “Honestly, he looks stressed, but he sorta  _ always  _ looks stressed.”

Lup’s shoulders sank. “Right.”

She wanted to help him, but for a few days, she agonized over how to do it. She tried to do little things, like having a hot cup of coffee waiting for him when he came into the lab and making his favorite breakfast, and she was working on convincing Merle that Davenport would be better able to help him build an irrigation system for the garden he was planning. 

All in all, it felt like too little, and Barry still looked as tired as ever. He was hunched over the desk with a pen in one hand, the other scratching the stubble in his chin. His eyes looked heavy, and even though Lup knew that he was getting old for a human, even when they had first set out, she could swear that the lines around his eyes were deeper and the grays in his hair more prominent as the year wore on. 

“Why don’t we hit the sack?” Lup suggested. It was nearly midnight. “We can finish this in the morning.”

Barry started, straightening his back. “Uh-yeah,” he sighed. “Go ahead and get some rest. I’ll be finished in a minute.”

Lup shook her head. “Nope,” she told him. “Can’t do that. I’m staying ‘till you’re done.”

Barry gave her a tired stare, then a sigh.

“Come on,” she tugged on his hand lightly, guiding him up from the chair. “Let’s get you into bed, okay?”

He nodded slowly and followed her down the hallway, back toward their rooms.

“D’ya want some hot chocolate before you go to sleep?” She asked, as they reached his door.

He shook his head wordlessly and turned to the door. “Goodnight, Lup,” he said gruffly.

“Night,” she answered back, and gave his shoulder just a tiny squeeze before she started back toward the kitchen. She heard Barry’s door shut as she leaned against the counter, still feeling like there was more she could do for him but unable to figure out what. So, she resigned to double up her efforts in the morning, made her hot cocoa and started back toward her own room. When she got to the hallway, however, she stopped. The sound was just barely audible, but once her elven ears locked into it, it was unmistakable: someone was crying.

She set her mug down and went to Barry’s door, hesitated for all of two seconds, then knocked. The sound stopped immediately, and Lup heard heavy, uneven breaths instead. “Barry?” Lup asked, keeping her voice down.

The was another hitch of breath, and she heard the rustle of fabric, and creak of bedsprings. Barry’s footsteps came to the door and she heard him take in a shaky breath before it opened, just a few inches. The room behind him was dark. “Hey-?” his voice was even rougher than usual. He was looking to the side, trying to hide his wet eyes, and he probably would have been doing a pretty good job of it if not for Lup’s darkvision.

“Barry,” she said gently. “Can I come in?” He froze, and his breath hitched again. “Hey,” she pushed on the door lightly, unsure about crossing the threshold to his private quarters, but Barry didn’t try to stop her from coming in. He just moved back a step and stood, shaking, in the middle of the floor.

Lup shut the door behind her and drew her wand.  _ “Silence,”  _ she whispered, and wrapped her arms over his shoulders. “C’mere.”

He wasn’t able to hold back a sob.

“It’s okay,” she told him. 

Whatever force had been holding back his tears broke, and Barry’s arms came up to clutch at Lup tightly, holding on as if she were the last thing keeping him alive. She squeezed back just as tight, unspeaking as he shook in her grasp. 

She wasn’t sure how long she held him for, but his big ugly sobs turned to gasps, which petered out into shaky breaths, and he slowly began to relax in her arms. She rubbed his back, waiting patiently until he began to extract himself from her. “Hey,” she pulled back enough to look him over, but kept both hands on his arms. “You okay?”

Barry wiped at his eyes, keeping his chin tucked down out of embarrassment. “Y-Yeah,” his voice was cracking, and he cleared his throat before he tried again. “Fuck…’m sorry,” he blurted.

Lup shook her head. “ _ Shhh _ ,” she wiped at his jawline, where tears had gotten caught in his stubble. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. Just...breathe, okay?”

He let out a long breath as he nodded.

Lup tugged him over to sit in the edge of the bed and parked herself next to him, one hand still rubbing his back in large circles. His shoulders slumped and his head fell forward, exhausted. 

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “It’s  _ okay _ …”


	13. The World Where People Are Just People and Sometimes Dogs

Magnus loves dogs. Taako knew this, on some level, but when they came to a world inhabited solely by dog-like humanoids, he was still amazed at how quickly Magnus managed to befriend the locals.

Magnus had made his first friend in one particular ‘Caninite’, as Taako had been calling them, and brought him to the ship to meet the crew. It was weird, at first.

“Uh-hey, guys,” Magnus grinned as he urged the Caninite to come over to the table with him. With six pair of eyes staring at him, it was no wonder he looked nervous. “This is Vic.”

“Hi, Vic, I’m Taako.” Taako spoke first. “Uh-you like pork roast and stuffing?”

“Um-yeah?” Vic answered uncertainly. 

“Pop a squat, my dude,” Taako told him, and gave Lup a pointed look as he stood up to get an extra plate.

“Uh-right,” Lup held out a hand to shake. “I’m Lup, I’m Taako’s sister,” she smiled.

Vic tilted his head a little, both looking confused at the hand extended to him and sniffing oddly in her direction.

“Oh-uh, different customs here, I think? You don’t usually do handshakes, so you?” Magnus tried to smooth over the encounter. 

Vic blinked. “Hand-shakes?” He turned his furry face to Magnus. “I don’t think so,” he answered uncertainly. “We usually greet each other like...well like normal. You hug and sniff…” Vic still looked confused. “My apologies, but does ‘sister’ mean the same thing to me as it does to you?”

Lup froze, and Taako nearly dropped the dish of quiche he was holding. “Uh-?”

“I apologize for the misunderstanding, it’s just...in my tongue, ‘sister’ designates a  _ female _ sibling. I have never heard a male refer to himself as a sister,” Vic seemed genuinely, politely confused.

Barry, of all people, was the first to respond. “It’s okay,” he told Vic, but he glanced beside him to Lup as he said it. “Where we’re from, things aren’t always so black and white.”

“Oh,” Vic looked nervous again, all-too aware that he’d said something upsetting, despite not knowing why.. “I’m sorry to have misunderstood.”

“‘S’okay,” Lup cleared her throat and gave an awkwardly out-of character laugh. “Just...caught me off guard a little...it’s been a  _ very  _ long time since someone has mistaken me for a man.”

“Sorry,” Vic said again.

“O-kay,” Taako cut in clearing his throat a little, “So, that’s Davenport, this is Lucretia, Barry, and Merle. Now let’s eat,” he encouraged, and the tension at the table was lifted as they began to fill their plates.

Later, after Magnus had seen Vic out the door, the crew still hadn’t broken from around the table.

“So...dog-people, huh?” Taako deadpanned. “Betcha some furries would have a fucking field day here.”

Magnus gave him a grossed-out look. “He’s nice, though. This place is probably up there on the weird scale with the mushroom world, but at least all the people seem friendly.”

They all laughed, agreeing, except for Lup, who looked tense. Taako tapped her in the shoulder with a weak fist.

“Uh-right,” Lup cleared her throat. “Never thought I’d have to explain this to you all, but...uh-“ she faltered. To her left, Taako lowered his gaze to the table, but to her right, Barry did the opposite. He looked at her intently, and gave her a small, encouraging smile. He didn’t even know what Lup was so anxious about, but Lup appreciates the support nonetheless. 

“I...was born with a dick,” she blurted, and she watched Barry’s face break into a chuckle, never breaking eye contact. Taako snorted with laughter, but the rest of the table was silent as they processed the information. “Uh-“ she finally looked back to the rest of the crew, sighing. “Yeah, so...I don’t know if Vic could like...what,  _ smell _ it or  _ sense  _ that or what, but…yeah.”

“Thank you for telling us,” Davenport said finally.

“You didn’t have to, though,” Merle added.

Barry nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we love you no matter what, Lup,” he said gently, and the rest of the table murmured their agreement.

Lup swallowed hard at that, fighting back tears. “Thanks you guys. Seriously.”

“Urgh-alright, that’s it- _ no crying _ . Only chocolate,” Taako declared. “Have some more fucking cake,” he told her, and she burst into laughter as tears started to stream down her face.

She’d calmed down by the time they all started to head off to their rooms, but something about the way Barry caught her eye was keeping her on edge. Taako seemed to be hanging out at the table until everyone else left, but eventually it was just the three of them and they’d been making small talk for half an hour when Taako announced that he was heading to bed. 

“You comin’, sis?” he asked, standing up and stretching. 

Lup hesitated. “I’ll come say goodnight in a few,” she told him.

Taako glanced at Barry for a fraction of a second, then nodded to Lup. “Sure thing.”

Lup actually turned her head to watch him walk toward the bunks, and only faced Barry after she head the door  _ click _ behind him.

“Hey,” he said quietly, offering her a half-smile.

“Hey,” she sighed, sinking downward in her chair. “What a fucking day, huh?”

“Vic was certainly something,” Barry nodded. “ _ Dog _ -people. Crazy, right?”

“Yeah,” she looked down to her lap, where she realized she was wringing her hands. “A-and the other thing,” she stuttered. Barry was watching her closely, but she didn’t meet his gaze.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”.

Lup swallowed. “Not really.”

Barry laughed a little. “Okay,” he said simply. “Then you don’t have to.”

She looked up to lock eyes with him, and blurted, “I don’t mind telling  _ you _ .” He just raised an eyebrow. “I mean-I-uh…”

“Lup,” Barry said gently. “You can tell me anything you want. You certainly surprised me today, but you’re still you, and  _ that’s  _ what matters. I mean, we’ve known each other for what-almost twelve years? It’s not like knowing who you used to be changes anything about who you are.”

“But-“ she looked back down to her hands, struggling for words, “It still bothers  _ me _ ,” she told him honestly. Barry just nodded and let her speak. “I mean-I just...I don’t want this body,” she admitted. “I mean, I  _ know  _ I look good. I know that men find me attractive-“ Barry’s face flushed a bit at that. “-but I can’t even like,  _ date _ normally. I mean, not that I can do that anyways, considering our...circumstances, but-how do you explain to someone that you’re a woman with a dick? You can’t just spring that on a guy when he invites you in to his apartment, and you can’t really start dinner with ‘hey, so is it cool that I can piss standing up?’ Like, it’s just-it’s not…I never know if someone’s gonna be cool with it, ya’ know?”

Barry was quiet for a long moment. “You know, I’m not sure I can help you when it comes to dates or anything. That’s probably always gonna be awkward, but you know what? If you find someone who really,  _ truly  _ loves you, it won’t matter.”

Lup didn’t seem convinced. “But it  _ does _ ,” she sighed. “What if the love of my life ends up being absolutely one hundo percent straight? I mean, you just can’t change that about yourself. If I  _ really _ , truly got to know and love one of these dog-people, like-personality wise, I’d still  _ never _ be able to find them physically attractive. I could  _ never  _ be more than friendship because it’s just not something I can get into. I can’t just expect that a guy would just be totally cool with what I’ve got goin’ on down there if he’s not into it.”

“Okay,  _ that  _ I get. But, at the risk of embarrassing myself, I’ve got to admit that it’s  _ highly  _ unlikely you’ll find someone who  _ isn’t  _ attracted to you,” Barry told her, his face reddening as he spoke.

Lup blinked, and took a moment for the meaning of his words to sink in. “Well, I mean, I  _ do _ look good,” she laughed, and flipped her hair over her shoulder for good measure. “But...um...I still just-wish I were a better wizard so I could...make the change, you know? Like, permanent. Then I’d be a  _ real _ woman.”

“First of all, you’re  _ already _ a real woman. But your know what? If it would make you happy, then start practicing,” Barry said, rolling his eyes. “Who even  _ knows _ how long we’re gonna be stuck on repeat. You have plenty of time to learn. Just...make sure you wanna do it for  _ you.” _

“Hey, that’s true,” she brightened up a little, visibly gaining confidence as she thought about it. “Maybe I _will_ study up,” she grinned up at him. “Oh my _god_ , the day I do the spell, I wanna get laid.”

“ _ Lup! _ ” Barry flushed an unattractive shade of purple as he laughed and covered his face with splayed hands.

“Come  _ on _ , I  _ know _ you aren’t completely innocent and naive, Bar,” she wiggled her eyebrows in a decidedly un-seductive move that Barry honestly could not have found more endearing.

“I might be!” He insisted, ridiculously.

She shot him a look. “Silence?” she said simply, and Barry not only stopped protesting but seemed to melt in his chair out of embarrassment.

“Ah-I thought we’d uh-you know, like _never_ _speak of that_?” Barry said hopefully, going quiet.

“No one else is up,” Lup shrugged. “Besides, it’s not like everyone on this ship doesn’t know most of  everyone else’s business anyways. I mean, maybe we’re not all as bad as  _ Magnus _ , but-“

“Oh- _ kay, _ I  _ really  _ don’t wanna talk about Mags jerkin’ it,” Barry groaned.

Lup just laughed. “Hey, you know what, I think I feel a lot better,” she told him cheerfully.

“Glad I could help?” Barry looked unconvinced and flustered.

Lup beamed, and as they both started to make their way down the hall, she pulled Barry in for a tight hug, catching him off-guard.

“Thanks,” she muttered into his hair.

“Oh...I-anytime,” he whispered back, swallowing hard.

She broke away to smile at him before she turned away and knocked on her brother’s door. 


	14. The World Where Taako Has a Sexuality Crisis

The world they landed on was pretty big on the arts. Since they didn’t have a clue where the Light had gone, Lucretia had suggested that they record the local museum experience in detail while they kept an ear open for clues. Lup had gone with her on the first day as they perused a large public collection, but quickly grew bored with the slow pace that Lucretia set. So Taako had volunteered to accompany her on the next art expedition.

Taako didn’t let himself be bored or held back by Lucretia’s chronicling. He pulled Lucretia in the direction of whatever he thought was interesting, for as little or long as it kept his attention, and she catalogued the experience as best as she was able to in her notebook.

Taako did most of the talking, chatting with locals and museum guides to get some perspective on what any of it meant, since they were looking at every painting and sculpture with virtually no cultural anchor. In the last, and smallest museum they visited, he took to the the gallery manager immediately. The woman was tall and slightly intimidating, with handsome elven features and impeccably dressed. She introduced herself with the squeeze of both hands that was customary here.

“Hello, I am Karolo,” she beamed down at Taako, and repeated the gesture with Lucretia, but quickly turned back to Taako to tell them, “Welcome to the Gallery of Lost Light. Would you like me to show you our collection, or would you prefer to browse the walls in your own time?”

Taako paused, blinking up at her. “Uh-a tour sounds _lovely_ , actually,” he told her, smiling a little awkwardly.

“Great,” she spared another glance at Lucretia, who was watching Taako closely. “So, are you two on a date today? There are a few pieces with quite romantic histories here, if-“

“Oh, _god_ no,” Taako blurted.

“Definitely not,” Lucretia said, more gently.

Taako seemed to realize how rude he’d sounded. “You’re a great friend and all, but...y’know-“

Lucretia snorted, rolling her eyes. “No offense taken.”

“Ah-right, my apologies. If you’d like to step this way,” Karolo led them into the gallery and started to tell them about the artists and pieces they had collected. Taako listened closely, enraptured, and Lucretia took diligent notes as they went.

“You know, we haven’t unveiled this last piece yet,” Karolo smiled conspiratorially at Taako as she led them through an archway. “But I think I could give you a sneak peak.”

“Fuck _yeah,_ ” he raised his eyes to behold the only thing in the room, which towered over them all.

“This is the Angel of Arayl-Hu Tana,” Karolo’s heels stopped clicking as she came to rest in front of a massive sculpture of a woman. She was easily twice the height of an elf and was painted an eerily similar tone of seafoam blue to Taako’s own skin, with silvery hair and eyes that seemed to glow with an ethereal light.

“She’s beautiful,” Taako nearly whispered, staring at her face in awe. Lucretia had paused her note taking, waiting for Karolo to elaborate on the artist and history of the piece. When, after several minutes of admiration had passed, she still hadn’t offered details, Lucretia asked for them.

“Oh, it’s quite interesting actually. We don’t know who made it or why. It just...showed up a couple of weeks ago. It was here when we arrived to work, and we don’t even know how they got it in the doors at all, much less how they got it past security. It is truly breathtaking, is it not?”

“Yeah,” Taako let out a dry little laugh. “You know, the _light_ that emanates from this thing, it’s just _perfect_. How does it do that? I don’t see any cords. Is it battery-powered? Magic?”

“Battery?” Karolo tipped her head.

“Uh y’know, a _light_ cantrip?”

“Oh-no, not a cantrip. It _is_ magical, though.”

“It is quite the sight,” Lucretia agreed, and Karolo’s gaze jumped to her, as if she’d forgotten she was there.

“Yes. Well, this is actually the last sight to see in our museum today. It’s actually almost time to close up, but uh-you know, I’m going to a friend’s party tonight. It’s at a private gallery and there’ll be drinks. I’ve been there before and it’s usually a fun time. I can’t bring too many people, but one or... _maybe_ two should be fine.”

“Hells _yeah_ ,” Taako shot her a dazzling smile. “I’m totally in.”

“Great,” Karolo spared Lucretia a glance, “And you?”

“I’d love to document a private collection, but I’m really not a party person, sorry.”

Karolo didn’t look disappointed, and neither did Taako. They agreed on a time and place to meet before Taako and Lucretia left for the Starblaster.

“She’s _incredible_ ,” Taako blurted.

“I’ve never seen you like this over a _woman_ ,” Lucretia said offhandedly.

Taako bit his bottom lip, sighing. “I fucking _know_ , okay? It’s...confusing. Just-don’t...don’t tell Lup just yet.”

Lucretia looked a little worried. “It’s alright, I won’t mention it. Just...if you need to talk-”

“Got it, jeez,” Taako interrupted  rudely, “Enough of this shit. Let’s get some lunch and go back to the ship. I think there’s sushi here.”

“Yeah, sure. Hey, do you think the Light is in that statue?” Lucretia asked.

“Oh, yeah. Deffo. What a coincidence, huh? Shame we’re probably gonna have to destroy it ‘cause it’s _real_ fucking beautiful.”

Lucretia sighed.

 

* * *

 

Taako didn’t come home until morning. Lup was still asleep, and Davenport, Barry and Lucretia were sipping coffee at the kitchen table when the hatch was eased open.

“Uh-g’mornin’,” Taako said casually, giving them a lopsided smile.

“Morning. Want a coffee?” Lucretia asked.

“ _Please_ ,” he sunk into the chair next to her and thanked her as she dropped a perfectly prepared cup in front of him. “How d’ya know how I like it?”

“We’ve been stuck together long enough that I’d frankly be embarrassed if I didn’t know how you took it,” she told him flatly.

Taako tipped his head in thought. “True,” he chuckled.

“How was your date?” Davenport asked.

“Better than I planned,” Taako snorted.

“Obviously. I mean, it’s seven in the morning.”

Taako just smirked. “Would you like to know something amazing about the inhabitants of this world? They’re not the same elves that we are.”

“What do you mean?” Lucretia furrowed her brow.

“Anatomically, they’re a little different. They...well, they don’t have males and females.”

“That’s...neat,” Barry leaned forward, particularly interested. “What does that mean uh- _practically_?”

“It means that every elf on this planet has parts from both sexes. There _is_ no such thing as gender to them. They each can play either role in reproduction. It’s fucking _crazy_ , dude. And all day yesterday I was having a fucking sexuality crisis over this Karolo and they don’t even know what ‘I’m gay’ means! It means _nothing_ at all to these people.”

“Taako,” Lucretia laid a hand on his shoulder, sensing that he was a little more worked up than he wanted to pretend. “It’s okay.”

He deflated. “But they’re still…a _she_. Kinda…? I mean…yeah.”

“And?” Barry rolled his eyes. “If you find each other attractive and you think they’re a great person, what’s the difference?”

“They have a _vagina_ , Barold,” Taako told him incredulously. “You’re telling me that shit ain’t scary as fuck? What if your next lay had a surprise dick?”

He just shrugged, only blushing a little bit, to his credit. “All I’m saying is that it shouldn’t matter.”

Taako frowned deeply, “Well, I’ve got to steal the light from them so that this world doesn’t get fucking vored anyways, so I doubt it’s gonna work out.” He sighed, and drained his coffee. “Imma hit the sack. Tell Lup to wake me up when she comes out. I have got some fuckin’ _stories_ for that girl.”

The other three just nodded, unsure what else to say.


	15. The World Where Magnus Makes a Bad Pun

Taako would grumble about it, and he certainly didn’t like being on a starvation diet, but he  _ liked _ the challenge of making a year’s worth of food last them all until the next cycle. He’d worked hard to keep the pantry well-stocked with a diverse selection of other-planar foods. He mixed and matched with the spices and obscure veggies he’d collected to make some memorable concoctions, most of which were carefully planned and portioned. He stuck to his menu, for the most part, but once in a while, he just needed to make something on a whim.

So Magnus found Taako in the kitchen after lunch, carefully icing what looked to be a short stack of pancakes.

“What’re you making?” Magnus stopped at the island, watching Taako work.

“Honey cake,” he answered simply, without looking up.

Magnus eyed the oven, “It smells  _ amazing _ .”

‘Course it does,  _ I’m  _ making it,” Taako spared him a smug grin before he returned to the oven to switch out the pancake inside for an uncooked flat of dough. He set it on a rack to cool and pulled off his mitts. “It’s gonna be  _ so _ dope,” Taako promised.

“I can’t wait to try it,” Magnus told him sincerely.

“Well, if y’wanna getta sneak peak, come back in about forty-five minutes. Ch’a’boi gonna hook ya up.”

Magnus grinned and left Taako to his work, heading back towards his room. Taako kept adding layers, carefully pulling each thin cake from the parchment it lay on and letting it cool before he added it to the stack. He iced the stack with determined precision until it stood fifteen layers tall, then slowly spread a layer of icing over the sides as well. Taako crumbled some of the leftover cake up and sprinkled it over the outside, making a perfectly crumb-covered cake that he had to take a step back to marvel at.

“That looks  _ amazing _ ,” Magnus’ voice jerked Taako out of his own head. “I can’t wait to see the  _ cross section _ \- oh, it’s gonna be  _ so _ good.”

“Uh-?” Taako nodded dumbly. He didn’t seem to be able to speak. He couldn’t even force himself to  _ look away _ like he knew he had to; like he needed to have done ten seconds ago.

“Taako?” Magnus diverted his eyes away from desert and furrowed his brows at Taako.

“Uh-yeah. Hey, Mags?” Taako cleared his throat, finally looking away, pointedly focused on the countertop. “D’ya mind puttin’ some  _ clothes  _ on?”

Magnus flushed, looking down at himself. He was shirtless, having just finished a quick workout, but he  _ was _ wearing shorts and the look wasn’t exactly new for him. “Uh-sure?” He eyed Taako’s too-stiff movements and shifty eyes. “I’ll just…” Magnus went to his room and pulled a shirt over his head, glancing at the mirror on his way back. He thought he looked normal.

Taako looked frazzled when Magnus returned, and shoved a bowl of leftover icing and crumbled up cake onto Magnus’ hands. “Here,” he mumbled.

“Thanks,” Magnus took it uncertainly, much less enthusiastic about the cake now. Taako looked like he was going to bolt from the room to avoid him, but Magnus just couldn’t leave the awkwardness hanging. “Uh-hey,” he started gently, “Do you...I mean, should I-?”

“Fuck,” Taako pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. “Stop. Just...stop right there-”

“I just...I don’t understand?” Magnus tried, and Taako rolled his eyes.

“Look, it’s not like you don’t  _ know _ you look good, homie. Ch’a’boi’s been able to block that out for  _ years _ , okay, but…” Taako looked embarrassed and slightly pained to admit, “Last year was  _ good _ , ya get me? Karolo was...well, I’m not a fucking saint, Mags. I just broke a twelve-year-long celibacy last year, so-” he cut himself off before he said something even more embarrassing.

Magnus blinked. “I-uh...I’m  _ flattered _ ? I guess…?”

“It’s doesn’t  _ mean  _ nuthin’,” Taako defended, crossing his arms. 

Magnus laughed a little. “No, um- I get it. It’s cool. I mean, looking...looking isn’t gonna hurt anybody, right?”

Taako turned away, going to the sink.

“No, seriously,” Magnus tried again, a little more certainty in his voice. “I work hard to stay in shape, and it’s...sorta nice to know that the effort is appreciated by  _ someone _ around here.”

Taako glanced doubtfully back at where Magnus was playing with his bowl of cake crumbs.

“Hey,” Magnus grinned suddenly, “You feed my stomach  _ and _ my ego.”

Taako groaned, and the weird tension in the room seemed to dissipate in an instant. “You are the  _ worst _ human. That isn’t even  _ funny _ -”

“But it was  _ pun _ -y.”

Taako narrowed his eyes, “I swear to Pan if you ever tell a soul, I’ll feed you fucking poison, Mags. You  _ know  _ I’ll do it.”

Magnus just laughed and shoved a bit of honey cake into his mouth, making sure to give Taako an exaggerated wink as he licked the icing.

“ _ Fuck off, _ ” Taako shot at him without real malice, and turned back to finish the dishes.


	16. The World Where Merle Has Wise Words

Merle didn’t enter Davenport’s office very often. The room doubled as his living quarters, since the old bunk had been appropriated for storage years ago, and most of the crew stuck to their own rooms out of respect for each others’ privacy. He was curious, therefore, when Davenport singled him out after dinner one night and asked to speak to him in private.

“Uh-sure,” Merle gave him a questioning look, to which Davenport only tipped his head towards his door. Davenport didn’t speak until he’d closed that door behind them. “Sit down,” he offered, gesturing at the desk chair as he plopped down on the side of his bed.

“O-kay?” Merle teetered uncertainly on the edge of the seat, watching Davenport expectantly. “What’s this all about?”

Davenport sighed, “I have some concerns about the effects of aging on the crew,” he said slowly. “Specifically, the fact that we don’t seem to be aging at all.”

Merle frowned. “O-kay?” he repeated. “I mean, you’re not the only one to have noticed. I mean, it’s only been...fourteen years, so most of us wouldn’t have aged  _ that _ much, but I’ve certainly noticed that Barry and Magnus aren’t getting any wrinkles. I don’t think it’s gotten past any of us, Cap’n.”

Davenport frowned. “I’m worried about the effect it might have in the future,” he told Merle. “It’s not  _ natural _ to have so many life experiences at such a young age, and I’m worried that it could be damaging in the long term.”

“Oh-o, Cap’n,  _ nothing _ about us is natural,” Merle chuckled. “I’m not sure precisely what you’re worried about, though? Magnus is the youngest here, and even physically, he’s absolutely an adult. His brain is not underdeveloped at twenty-five like an elf’s would be.”

“It’s not that I’m worried about the humans,  _ particularly _ ,” Davenport told Merle. “I’m worried about...well,  _ all  _ of us. What if we’re stuck doing this for fifty more years? What if we’re still living cycles in a hundred years? Or a  _ thousand _ ?”

“Oh, you’re worried about  _ morale, _ ” Merle nodded thoughtfully. “I gotcha now. Well, that one’s a little trickier.”

“The dying doesn’t help,” Davenport added flatly.

Merle grimaced. “Yeah, it doesn’t. But...you know what we’ve got to keep us going?” Davenport blinked up at him without an answer. “It’s the same thing that keeps this engine running,” Merle said genty. “We’ve got each other. All we can do is keep learning new things, stay occupied, and stick together. Like it or not, we’re a  _ family _ now. What keeps that engine running now is the fact that we all care about each other.”

Davenport hesitated, “The bond engine has undergone... _ significant _ recalibrations throughout the years due to the changing dynamics aboard this ship.”

Merle chuckled, “I’ll bet. Look, Cap’n,” he sighed, “I don’t know what’s gonna happen, or how many years we’re gonna be stuck doing this, but we’ll be alright as long as we’re  _ together _ . We’ll...well, we’ll  _ try  _ to keep each other sane.”

Davenport was nodding along slowly with what Merle said. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“Damn right,” he grinned. “If ya….ever need to talk, just come and find me” he offered. “And if I’m dead for the year and you don’t want to bother with the others, you can at least talk to Pan. Pan is always listening.”

Davenport nodded one last time. “Thanks, Merle.”

“Anytime.”


	17. The World Where the Air is Jungle Juice

**Cycle 16 - The World Where the Air is Jungle Juice**

When they landed, the world looked beautiful. It was a dense jungle of trees and tangled vines butted up against a clear ocean, green and blue and sparkling. Lup and Lucretia volunteered to take the first scouting trip, and as Taako and Magnus watched them out the window, Lup removed her mask, gave Lucretia the thumbs up so that she could take her mask off too, and they both turned to wave at the Starblaster before they started to stumble.

“ _ Shit _ !” Taako clawed at the windowsill. “What’s going on?”

Magnus was already throwing on a respirator and heading for the exit as Taako watched Lup and Lucretia’s smiles dull, and their eyes glaze over. Lucretia stumbled onto her hands and knees as Magnus wrenched the door open, and Lup was clumsily trying to reaffix her mask. Magnus was at their side in moments, lifting them over each shoulder and barging back inside as Taako opened the hatch back up, screaming at Merle as Magnus rushed through the airlock.

“C’mon, old man, fucking  _ heal _ them!”

“Okay, calm down,” Merle tried to steer Taako out of the way to inspect Lup and Lucretia, who Magnus dumped on the floor in the middle of the cabin. “Lup? Luc? Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“ _ Fucg _ ,” Lup groaned, tossing her head to the side pitifully. “Dun’ feel gud,” she mumbled.

“Are you  _ drunk _ ?” Taako’s eyes went to Lucretia, who was nodding, cheek rubbing against the floor uncomfortably.

“Fink so,” she managed. “Suur feel s’liget.”

“Let me try something,” Merle cast  _ lesser restoration _ on Lucretia, who began to perk up almost immediately. “Oh good,” he sounded relieved, and cast it on Lup as well.

“Oh man,” Lucretia clutched her stomach, eyes coming back into focus. “I’ve never been that fucked up in my life.”

“I am  _ not _ going back out there,” Lup groaned. “ _ Holy fuck _ it’s like the  _ worst _ drunk.”

Barry was already at her side. “Are you okay? Was it inhalation? Or skin contact-?”

“Not sure,” Lup frowned, thinking hard.

“Inhalation, I think,” Lucretia answered unsteadily.

“But are you  _ okay _ ?” Taako insisted, urgently.

Lup blinked. “I’m fine,” she sat up a little straighter. “I feel like I’m hungover, but I’m okay.”

Magnus set a hand on Taako’s shoulder, which he tensed up at, but didn’t move away.

“Can you stand?” Davenport asked.

Lup accepted a hand from Barry, and Merle helped Lucretia to stand, weak-kneed but ultimately fine.

“Take the day off. Report to your quarters and rest. Merle, you’re on observation.” Davenport ordered. “Taako, Magnus, and Barry, I want you to help me assess the situation here.” Merle nodded, and began to walk Lucretia down the hallway, but Taako stood glaring at the Captain. “Do you have something to say, Taako?” Davenport asked sharply.

Taako glanced at his sister’s tired face, then scowled at Davenport, “Be right back. C’mon, Lup.”

“Five minutes,” Davenport warned.

Taako glared, but didn’t speak until they reached Lup’s room. “I hate it when he gets all Captain-y,” he complained.

Lup groaned as she lay down in bed, fully clothed. “He  _ is _ the captain. He’s gotta do his job.”

“It’s been fifteen fucking years, doesn’ he think it’s about time to lay off?”

“Taako,” Lup frowned, sitting up on his elbows, “If something happens to us all, that’s  _ it _ . The bond engine needs  _ us _ to run. It needs  _ us _ in order to hit the reset button. Cap’n’port’s job is to do whatever it takes to make sure at least one of us makes it off whatever godforsaken planet we land on.”

Taako groaned, tugging at Lup’s boots. “Yeah, I  _ get _ it, it’s just...hey, you can’t sleep in these,” he frowned. “We all  _ know _ . We  _ know _ what’s up, and we all know how to run this stupid ship and we know that we’re toast if we fuck up.”

“Yeah, I know,” she sighed, tiredly. She helped kick off her shoes and lay back flat against her pillow. “Just...Davenport is doing his best, okay? Play nice.”

Taako rolled his eyes. “Urgh-fine,” he pulled the covers up over her shoulders. “Get some sleep, sis,” he told her. “Door’ll be open so the old man can keep an eye on you.”

She just nuzzled into the pillows and closed her eyes, so Taako let himself out and returned to the main cabin, where Davenport had laid out respirators and full-body protective suits.

“Everything okay?” Barry asked.

Taako nodded. “We’re good. So, Cap’n, what’re we doin’? You wanna see if there’s any way to cook the poison outta the plants around here?”


End file.
